1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head mount display having a visual apparatus to be mounted on the head of a user to allow him/her to see video.
2. Related Background Art
A visual apparatus called a head mount display that is mounted on the head of a user to allow him/her to see the video displayed on a display unit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-84210, 7-181422, and 7-333547. This head mount display is used to enjoy video or the like with a sense of reality in an arbitrary place without influencing the surroundings, and hence is required to be lightweight, comfortable to wear, and excellent in portability.
(1) The head mount display in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-84210 is a mount apparatus having a mount portion whose rear portion is cut. According to this apparatus, a press support member using an elastic member made of a metal, synthetic resin, or the like is pressed against the head of the user. With this operation, the user can wear the apparatus comfortably without any restraint felt at the back of the head. In addition, the apparatus can be easily attached/detached on/from the head of the user from the front.
(2) The head mount display in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-181422 is designed such that the mount unit surrounds the head of the observer. This mount unit is biased to the sides of the head to fix it on the head.
(3) The video display apparatus in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-333547 has a display unit mounted on a mount frame, and a movable frame mounted on the mount frame. With this structure, this movable frame is biased to fix the apparatus on the head of the user.
FIG. 15 is a side view of another conventional head mount display. An image display unit 101 is coupled to a mount member 103 through a support member 102 having two hinges 102a and 102b. A forehead pad 104 is mounted on the mount member 103. The forehead pad 104 is comprised of a pad 105a, a pad base 105b, and a base 106.
When this apparatus is to be used, the mount member 103 is mounted on an observer S, and the pad 105a of the forehead pad 104 is brought into contact with the forehead of the observer. In this case, visual axis adjustment between the image display unit 101 and an eyeball of the observer is performed by using the two hinges 102a and 102b. 
According to the conventional head mount display (1), although easy mounting and elimination of discomfort from the head can be realized, the pressing force adjustment mechanism attached to the press support member increases the weight of the apparatus and hampers comfort in wearing the apparatus. In addition, owing to the frame partly cut and shaped to surround the head, the apparatus becomes large in size. This interferes with portability that allows the user to enjoy video in an arbitrary place.
In addition, since the press support member made of an elastic member such as a metal or synthetic resin member is pressed against the head to fix the apparatus on the head, if a synthetic resin or the like is used, the press support member creeps after a long period of use, and the biasing force needs to be sequentially adjusted. Eventually, the necessary biasing force may not be obtained. Assume that a metal is used for the press support member. In this case, since no caution is exercised in selecting the material and cross-sectional shape, if the press support member is spread when the user wears the apparatus on his or her head, the internal stress exceeds the elastic limit, resulting in a loss of biasing force. Likewise, adjustment for spring force is sequentially required, and the necessary biasing force may not be obtained eventually.
According to the head mount display (2), since the display unit is fixed on the head of the observer with the headband-like mount unit, it is troublesome to properly wear the apparatus. In addition, the display unit is relatively heavy, and the display unit must be fixed on the head with a strong force. This gives the observer a sense of restraint, and the observer""s hair curls in a wrong way when he/she wears the apparatus.
The video display apparatus (3) can be mounted on the head of the user from the front of the face and hence has good portability. Since this apparatus does not compress the entire perimeter of the head, no sense of restraint is locally produced. However, the movable frame is biased against the head, and the mount frame receives the repulsion of the basing force. For this reason, the mount frame must have high rigidity. As a result, the frame becomes heavy, impairing the comfort upon wearing the apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight head mount display which solves the above problems, can be easily mounted on the head of a user, and has high portability.
In order to achieve the above object, a head mount display comprising a display unit having a display element and optical means for enlarging/displaying an image on the display element, a first frame extending substantially conforming to a forehead of a user, first support portion mounted on the first frame at a predetermined angle, and support means for supporting the display unit on the first frame, wherein the first frame is formed by bending a metal rod, metal pipe, or metal plate, first and second hinges are mounted on two end portions of the first frame, the other end of each of the first and second hinges supports a corresponding one of first and second side frames, which respectively have second and third support portions, have shapes bent inwardly, and have elasticity in a direction in which the first and second side frames bend, to allow each of the side frames to rotate in a direction of the head, and the first, second, and third support portions are biased with biasing forces produced by spreading the first and second side frames, thereby producing a force that allows the pads to be worn on the head.
According to the present invention, there is provided a head mount display comprising a display unit having a display element and optical means for enlarging/displaying an image on the display element, a first frame extending substantially conforming to a forehead of a user, first support portion mounted on the first frame at a predetermined angle, and support means for supporting the display unit on the first frame, wherein the first frame is formed by coating a core member obtained by bending a metal rod, metal pipe, or metal plate with a resin film, first and second hinges are mounted on two end portions of the first frame, the other end of each of the first and second hinges supports a corresponding one of first and second side frames, which respectively have second and third support portions, have shapes bent inwardly, and have elasticity in a direction in which the first and second side frames bend, to allow each of the side frames to rotate in a direction of the head, and the first, second, and third support portions are biased with biasing forces produced by spreading the first and second side frames, thereby producing a force that allows the pads to be worn on the head.
According to the present invention, there is provided a head mount display comprising a display unit having a display element and optical means for enlarging/displaying an image on the display element, a first frame extending substantially conforming to a forehead of a user, first support portion mounted on the first frame at a predetermined angle, and support means for supporting the display unit on the first frame, wherein the first frame is formed by bending a metal rod, metal pipe, or metal plate, first and second hinges are mounted on two end portions of the first frame, the other end of each of the first and second hinges supports a corresponding one of first and second side frames, which have shapes bent inwardly and have elasticity in a direction in which the first and second side frames bend, to allow each of the side frames to rotate in a direction of the head, the first and second side frames respectively have third and fourth hinges mounted on end portions different from the end portions coupled to the first and second hinges, first and second press members respectively having second and third support portions are respectively supported on the third and fourth hinges to be rotatable in a direction of the head, and the first, second, and third support portions are biased with biasing forces produced by spreading the first and second side frames, thereby producing a force that allows the pads to be worn on the head.
According to the present invention, there is provided a head mount display comprising a display unit having a display element and optical means for enlarging/displaying an image on the display element, a first frame extending substantially conforming to a forehead of a user, first support portion mounted on the first frame at a predetermined angle, and support means for supporting the display unit on the first frame, wherein the first frame is formed by bending a metal rod, metal pipe, or metal plate, first and second hinges are mounted on two end portions of the first frame, the other end of each of the first and second hinges supports a corresponding one of first and second side frames, which have shapes bent inwardly and have elasticity in a direction in which the first and second side frames bend, to allow each of the side frames to rotate in a direction of the head, the first and second side frames respectively have first and second elastic members mounted on end portions different from the end portions coupled to the first and second hinges, first and second press members respectively having second and third support portions are respectively supported on the first and second elastic members to be foldable in a direction of the head, and the first, second, and third support portions are biased with biasing forces produced by spreading the first and second side frames, thereby producing a force that allows the pads to be worn on the head.
The head mount display that obtains a biasing biasing force of the elastic side frames can be made lightweight as a whole, and comfortable to wear. In addition, this apparatus is easy to wear and realizes excellent portability.
The head mount display uses the side frames coated with a resin and hence gives the user a soft feel when the support portion comes into contact with the head of the user. Even a person having an allergy to metals can use the display for a long period of time.
The head mount display having the frames and press member that can be folded in two is comfort to wear. This apparatus can be folded into a very compact structure and hence can improve the portability.
The head mount display designed to be folded in two by using the elastic members and press members is more comfortable to wear. This apparatus can be folded into a compact structure and hence can improve the portability.
The conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 15 uses one hinge 102b to adjust the visual axis height between the image display unit 101 and the eyeball. If the visual axis of the observer S matches a position where the forehead pad 104 approaches the displayed image in terms of height, the image display unit 101 pivots on the hinge 102a on the mount member 103 side to move to the position indicated by a chain double-dashed line 101xe2x80x2 away from the eyeball. As a result, the weight moment of the image display unit 101 increases to give the observer S a sense of heaviness, and the observer will suffer from fatigue after a long period of use.
When a plurality of observers S are to use one display apparatus, each observer S must adjust the visual axis height every time he/she uses it in order to adjust the visual height in accordance with each observer S. This is inconvenient when each observer wants to immediately observe video. In addition, even if only one observer S is to use the apparatus, the visual axis height easily goes out of adjustment upon reception of an external force or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a head mount display apparatus which solves the above problems and can be worn stably without changing the weight moment by keeping the distance between the eyeballs and the forehead pad constant.
In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, there is provided a head mount display apparatus comprising a display unit including a display element and optical means for enlarging and displaying an image on the display element, and mount means for mounting the display unit on a front surface of a head of a user, wherein the mount means has a mount pad that comes into contact with a forehead of the user at least upon being mounted, and the mount pad is movable in a direction of height with respect to the display unit to allow adjustment of a position where the mount pad comes into contact with the forehead of the user.
In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided a head mount display apparatus comprising a display unit including a display element and optical means for enlarging and displaying an image on the display element, and mount means for mounting the display unit on a front surface of a head of a user, wherein the mount means has a mount frame supporting the display unit and a mount pad that is supported by the mount frame and comes into contact with a forehead of the user upon being mounted, and the mount pad is movable in a direction of height with respect to the display unit to allow adjustment of a position where the mount pad comes into contact with the forehead of the user.
In using the head mount display apparatus, the user can adjust the visual axis between the image display unit and the eyeballs by vertically moving the mount pads without moving the display unit. The user can therefore adjust the visual axis optimally and easily while observing the image. Since the display unit does not move back and force with respect to the user, the distance between the eyeballs and the mount means is kept constant, and the user can wear it stably without any change in weight moment. In addition, since the visual axis adjustment unit can be assembled from a small number of parts, reductions in the number of assembly steps and weight can be attained. This apparatus can maintain an optimal visual axis adjustment position for the user for a long period of time with easy adjustment.
Furthermore, when this head mount display apparatus is to be used by a plurality of users, even if the display unit is not adjusted to the optimal position for the eyes of each user, he/she can easily re-adjust the display unit to the optimal adjustment position for his/her eyes.